si-mexico Chapter 180 Thriving
Chapter 180 Thriving
In the following days, all combat units in Dawn City were busy recruiting. Even without Dawn TV's announcement, many people, having heard about the Dawn Army's large-scale expansion, had already come to the Military Affairs Department to register. Personnel from various units arrived to conduct recruitment. Countless Dawn City residents had spontaneously formed long lines.
However, Li Chenglong also stated that recruitment should be based on relatively similar qualities; those with very poor qualities would not be accepted. Therefore, a recruitment notice was posted outside the Ministry of Military Affairs, requiring applicants to be between 17 and 45 years old, with the age limit relaxed for those with specific skills. Anyone who is healthy, disciplined, and obedient to orders, regardless of gender, can participate.
After initial selection, recruits undergo seven days of training to weed out those who fail. The rest are then registered as Dawn Army soldiers and assigned to combat units on their identification cards. Following this, they are issued military supplies, such as uniforms, and then undergo further training. To minimize unnecessary casualties, Li Chenglong mandates that new recruits train for at least a month before engaging in combat. Newly enlisted individuals with special abilities also receive appropriate training.
It's worth mentioning that Li Xue was also incorporated into the combat unit. To facilitate virus research, Li Chenglong sent a Level 5 ability user with similar purification and healing abilities to assist in the research. They have now begun researching the Level 4 virus, while Level 3 virus protective agents and vaccines have started mass production. Although current production is low, there's plenty of time, and the vaccination rate will definitely increase over time. Li Chenglong also prioritized vaccination for ordinary soldiers of the Dawn Army, as they will be involved in combat and constantly face the threat of the zombie virus.
Li Chenglong hesitated for a long time about which combat unit Li Xue should join. Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo both expressed their strong desire for Li Xue to join their division, as Li Xue was about to reach level eight and her support and combat capabilities were now unparalleled. After careful consideration, he decided to place Li Xue in the Support and Logistics Department. This department was newly established and lacked high combat strength, and Li Xue could fill some of those gaps. Although Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo expressed their regret, they also agreed with the decision.
Two days ago, he distributed three psionic apples to three virologists and infectious disease experts—An Qingyuan, Li Qinghe, and Liu Mingchang—who had made outstanding contributions to research on the zombie virus. Academician An Qingyuan, in particular, was nearing 80 years old but had worked tirelessly day and night on his virus research; the psionic apples were perfect for him. Ultimately, these three became water, wood, and wind-type ability users, respectively. Li Chenglong also left behind a considerable amount of crystals for them to upgrade.
Becoming a superhuman or an awakened being can restore one's youth or even return them to their prime, but this process is not instantaneous, and the older one's original age, the slower the recovery. For example, Academician An Qingyuan, who is 78 years old this year, is estimated to need several months to recover, and at most can only recover to the state of a 45 to 50-year-old; it will be difficult to return to a younger state. Similarly, Yunlan's father, Qi Guoan, is now a level 7 earth-type superhuman and looks like he's in his late thirties, while Zheng Yong, who was originally thirty-five, now looks only thirty.
Li Chenglong pushed Hao Hao into his city lord's office. Wang Xiao hurriedly said, "Captain Li, it's only been seven days! How could you take the baby out like that? Newborns have low immunity and are easily infected by bacteria and viruses. It wouldn't be good if he got sick." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "The air in the Dawn Building is controlled daily by a computer in the central computer room, and then purified and ventilated by the central air conditioning, so there's generally no problem. Besides, Hao Hao is an Awakened One, so his physique is much better than other children."
Wang Xiao played with Hao Hao in the stroller, laughing and saying, "The little guy still has blue pupils, how peculiar." Li Chenglong also said, "That is indeed very peculiar, because even my eyes look normal without my abilities, but Erica and the pediatrician have both checked and found no problems." Wang Xiao replied, "It's nothing, as long as the child is healthy."
Li Chenglong has been quite busy these past few days. Although he doesn't have to personally handle the expansion of the army, he has received a large number of applications for the appointment of regimental and battalion-level officers. While Division Commanders Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo can make their own decisions regarding the battalion-level officers, they still send the lists to Li Chenglong and Zheng Yong for review. As for the regimental-level officers, the Shuguang City Military Committee, headed by Li Chenglong, will discuss and make decisions. However, this is just a symbolic formality. In fact, Li Chenglong had already made plans and discussed it with Zheng Yong, Wu Gang, and several others, and the list had already been finalized.
After a while, Wang Xiao took the child back to Li Chenglong's house on this floor and handed her over to Yun Lan. Then she came over to help Li Chenglong print documents. Seeing that Wang Xiao seemed hesitant, Li Chenglong smiled and asked, "Wang Xiao, just tell me what's wrong, and see if I can help you." Wang Xiao then slowly said, "Captain Li, Shuguang City now has nearly 10 people, and there are even 12 kindergartens. You've met my child, Wang Xiaoxiao, but the First Kindergarten is completely full. I went to ask yesterday, and they said it's already full. What do you think?"
Li Chenglong nodded: "Now that the population has increased, there are 12 kindergartens, 6 primary schools, 4 junior high schools, and 2 senior high schools in Shuguang City to help with children's schooling. It is indeed a thriving and prosperous place. I remember that our teaching staff is relatively balanced, and there are no key schools or ordinary schools."
Wang Xiao said somewhat embarrassedly, "The main reason is that Shuguang No. 1 Kindergarten is relatively close to our home, only 300 meters away. Other kindergartens are relatively far away. My mother is getting old, and if the distance is too far, it's not convenient for her to pick up and drop off the child. Currently, I pick her up and drop her off every day, but this conflict with our office working hours, so..." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "This is easy to handle. I'll write a note to the principal and stamp it with the city lord's seal. You can go see him tomorrow and tell him that I said, for the sake of Shuguang City's work, I'll arrange for your child to be admitted."
Wang Xiao thanked him repeatedly, and Li Chenglong, true to his word, immediately took out a piece of paper from his drawer, wrote a letter to the kindergarten principal, and signed and stamped it. After handing it to her, Li Chenglong asked curiously, "Logically speaking, you're the city lord's office assistant, he should give you some face, right?" Wang Xiao replied, "I didn't say I was your assistant. He only knows I work at the Dawn Building. I don't want to use that kind of power to pressure people." Li Chenglong nodded approvingly, "Very good. If every manager in Dawn City were like you, Wang Xiao, then we could truly achieve unity between officials and the people, and between the military and the people."
When Li Chenglong returned home at noon, he saw Yunlan breastfeeding the baby in the living room. Qin Fangyu, who had been dealing with some work related to troop expansion, would be back in the afternoon. Li Chenglong kissed the baby on the cheek, took out the postpartum meal specially prepared for Yunlan by the canteen, and placed it on the table for her to eat slowly. He knew he didn't know how to cook this kind of meal himself, otherwise he would have made it himself.
Yunlan chatted with Li Chenglong while eating, while Li Chenglong prepared a simple meal in the kitchen. Li Xue had gone to the Information Support Department and wouldn't be back until evening. Han Xiaoling and Chen Xiaoke were busy learning about the Central Computer Room and Interstellar Language from Erica. Interstellar Language is a universal language; whether they are Kielians, Daneians, or Merarians, in addition to their own languages and scripts, they also learn Interstellar Language. Li Chenglong had also been studying it whenever he had free time these past few days.
After a while, Shen Menghua and Wei Lanxin arrived together. Wei Lanxin gave Yunlan and Haohao some more clothes, while Shen Menghua played happily with Haohao. After playing for a while, Shen Menghua said happily, "City Lord, your child is so lovable. Yunlan, how are you feeling now?" Yunlan smiled and said, "I feel pretty good. The recovery speed of ability users and awakened users is very fast. I estimate that after Haohao's full moon, I will be able to participate in battle."
After some casual conversation, Shen Menghua reported on the recent production situation of the various factories. With the start of the military expansion, the factories were operating at a 24-hour pace, with batches of ordinary bullets, crystal bullets, and crystal grenades being transported to the Joint Logistics Support Department. Wei Lanxin came today for two reasons: first, to bring Yunlan and the baby some clothes she had made; and second, after so much effort, the hide of the level 10 leopard that Li Chenglong had killed had finally been made into leather armor thanks to Wei Lanxin's efforts.
Actually, the distribution of these leather armors had already been decided beforehand: one set each for Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, Hao Dahai, and Wei Lanxin, and one smaller set for Han Xiaoling. Each set was custom-made to fit their body size. Li Chenglong looked at the exquisite leather armor and praised Wei Lanxin's craftsmanship. He said it would be distributed today, and Wei Lanxin could take her set with her when she left.
Speaking of leather armor, Li Chenglong recalled the armor he had obtained after killing the level 10 murloc. That armor was incredibly sturdy; even Li Chenglong's full-force attack could only leave deep marks on it, but could not penetrate it. What was even more surprising was that, over time, the marks on the armor would slowly disappear.
However, the armor was a bit too small for Li Chenglong, and Yun Lan was too petite. Moreover, the armor was clearly designed for men, making it very uncomfortable for her. After discussing it, the two decided to keep the armor for now and make a decision later.